Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

While I'm not a self-help guru, a Professor or a researcher, I am a reader and a blogger - someone who sees a lot of articles online with titles like " Five steps to a new you" or " Six ways to change the world" or " Seven things you need to know right now!"  Most of the time, titles like that make me laugh. After all, the whatever-many steps that worked for whoever wrote the article may not work for me or anyone else. This blog post is entitled "How To Fix The World In Five Simple Steps" not because I believe that these five steps will actually 'fix' the world but precisely because titles like this one make me laugh. Because they make me curious yet also make me think Let's see what this author comes up with... These five steps may not fix the world, however I hope this article will make you think. Step One: What works for you may not work for another Realise that your system, *your* way of seeing the world, of believing, of ...

Reading about ongoing acts of terror and destruction around the world and people who use their interpretation of religious teachings as an excuse to hurt or kill others makes me wonder about humanity, makes me wonder if we are really as smart, special and evolved as we like to believe. With all we think we know, with all we've learnt about the world and about the universe, everything we've achieved in fields like science, technology and medicine, somehow many of us still seem to believe that it is right or just to kill living beings, to keep people as slaves, to treat others as property and hurt people for not following rules some believe are right. Last week, I wrote this post entitled Violence, Death, Destruction... in which I wrote about a number of horrible attacks that took place, attacks by people who support terror, brutality and injustice. Wanting to write about what's going on in the world yet desiring to write something positive and inspiring instead of a do...

Today, the news is full of violence, death and destruction. At a Shiite mosque in Kuwait, at a factory in France , a coastal resort in Tunisia. In Israel, in Kobani in Kurdistan. People are dead or dying, people are wounded, people are crying, people are hurting. And why? Because some believe that they are more right than others? Because some believe that their truths are more valid than others? Because some believe their interpretation of religion or God's laws are more correct than another's? Because some believe that it is up to them to terrorise, kill and destroy? At least 27 28 are dead and 36 wounded in Tunisia . In Kobani in Kurdistan , 150 or more dead and many wounded. In Kuwait , last death toll I read mentioned 5 24 dead and 15 wounded. In Israel too, people have been attacked, people die. Not by the dozens usually, so the news doesn't speak about it. Or perhaps the news simply doesn't care as much about innocent Israelis as about innocent British or F...

"Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world. Just start thinking peace, and the message will spread quicker than you think."  ~ Yoko Ono

“Look closely. The beautiful may be small .” “Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end.” “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligence!” “For peace to reign on Earth, humans must evolve into new beings who have learned to see the whole first.”

Vanavond zijn wij om acht uur twee minuten stil. Zeventig jaar na het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog is er vrede in Nederland. Wel in Nederland, maar op zoveel andere plekken niet. Wij staan stil bij wat er tijdens de oorlog gebeurde, bij de mensen die omkwamen, die vermoord zijn, vervolgd zijn om wie zij waren en wat zij geloofden. Twee minuten stilte om miljoenen doden te herdenken. Al ben ik jaren na de oorlog geboren vind ik het belangrijk om twee minuten stil te zijn, om stil te staan bij wat er al die jaren geleden gebeurd is. Elk jaar weer vraag ik me af of twee minuten stilte wel genoeg is. Elk jaar weer weet ik zeker dat twee minuten lang niet genoeg is. Wat is een mensenleven waard? Wat zijn miljoenen mensenlevens waard? Toch zeker meer dan maar twee minuten per jaar? Twee minuten stilte Op 4 mei vindt elk jaar in Nederland de Nationale Herdenking plaats. Tijdens deze dodenherdenking worden om 20.00 uur in het hele land twee minuten stilte in acht genomen voor de Nederl...

Women are special, amazing, delicate, strong, powerful, mighty, dedicated, loving, caring, compassionate, intelligent, brave, honourable, beautiful, smart, kind and yes - they are  heroic fighters too! Tomorrow is World Women's Day, a perfect opportunity to speak up about women who inspire me. " International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday. "  Source: International Women's Day website Brave Kurdish women are battling those trying to eradicate them, theirs and their way of life: ISIS and others who think and believe as they do. This year, World Women's Day starts in Kurdistan, which means it feels very right to look to Kurdish women as women the whole world can be proud of and look up to - women who stand up for what is just and right, who fight f...

Some days I wonder if humanity is doomed to fail at being human and humane. Some days I wonder if Europe is gearing up for a do-over of the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties. Some days I wonder if our entire world will end in flames and fumes, dust and rubble. Some days I wonder if some trigger-happy madman will nuke the entire world to Kingdom Come. What are we doing to each other? Will we ever stop trying to kill and hurt other human beings? Will we ever learn that true world peace will only happen when we all learn to live together, when we learn to respect our fellow human beings and understand that our way may not be their way?

Worrying about what's going on in Sydney with regards to the #sydneysiege . My thoughts are with the hostages and all who know and love them. I have friends and family in Australia; really don't like how close to home this feels. Silver lining to this horrible situation must be the " I'll Ride With You " social media posts tagged #illridewithyou and the way Australians are coming together as one. It's good to see that the Australian people won't let terrorists scare them into being quiet, going into hiding or turning on each other.

Early Morning... Well, not so early any more by the time I added watermarks to the photos and decided what to write in this post! Still - it was dark when I got up, surely that counts as early! As it got lighter and I went to make a cup of tea, this amazing sight greeted me. O f C ourse I rushed to the balcony to take several photos to share! @Nimavenl We really do live in a very beautiful world!  I just wish we - humanity - could spend more time enjoying our world, loving each other and appreciating being alive to enjoy the beauty. Instead, we hate, we disagree, we dislike, we fight, we torture, we rape, we insult, we discriminate, we kill, we terrorise.  "Our lives begin to end the day we become  silent about the things that matter."         Martin Luther King, Jr @Nimavenl I refuse to let terror win - I believe in humanity. Peace   :)   Shalom   :)   Salaam

One only has to turn on the television or read the newspaper to realise our world is full of war, injustice, senseless hatred, racism, discrimination, murder and terrorism. We have brains capable of imagining how others might act, react, think and feel. We have books and movies which give us the opportunity to see the world from another's point of view or even from inside their hearts and minds. We have the internet and free online translation services that allow us to communicate with people from all over the world, no matter their language or home country. Yet even with books, movies and the internet to connect us and our human ability to imagine how others might think and feel, we haven't learned to live together in peace and prosperity, to share our planet together without bloodshed or violence, to coexist without trying to bend others to our will and our ways. Source: "Colour Blind" by Acvelyen | Deviant Art We are all human, yet relatively small differe...

I enjoy taking photos, viewing the world from a photographer's point of view and sharing the beauty of the world with others. There is so much unrest, fighting, hatred and injustice going on in the world that I believe it is vital to 'take a moment' every once in a while to realise that the world is not all bad. In fact, it is extremely beautiful and diverse and can bring us so much pleasure and enjoyment! "We are all dreamers creating the next world, the next beautiful world for ourselves and for our children" ~ Yoko Ono I believe that if only more of us focused on sharing beauty and love instead of spreading hatred, discord and intolerance that the world could truly be a better and more amazing place. Peace is possible, if only we give it a chance! Having decided on the awesomeness of this wall, I wanted to share it with others. Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea - beauty, nature, functionality and light all in one! :-) Post by Nimavenl . What do...

Wow, another interesting day in The Netherlands. The weather pulled a very Kiwi "Four seasons in one day" (pop-culture reference to the song by Kiwi band Crowded House) stunt today - rain, hail, wind, grey skies, a bit of sun, then blue sky and lovely sunshine - had it all and enjoyed, well, none of it actually. If only the sun had been shining a bit earlier, then my backyard would have been a lovely spot this arvo. Ah well, at least the flowers got watered eh... On a completely unrelated note, I was about to switch the telly off a few minutes ago when I heard an interesting sentence. Due to financial problems in this lovely country the government is trying its best to find ways to save money. One way that has been suggested is the reintroduction of compulsory military service. Whoa hold up WAIT THIS IS INTERESTING  my brain told me, yet the compulsion to log on to Facebook and play some games got to me. Good thing pretty much every newspaper is online today, as it m...